End-user computing software programs and their operations (i.e., applications) have traditionally been processed (i.e., run) on an end-user device itself, for example, a personal computer (PC) running an application of the PC, a smartphone running an application on the smartphone, a game console running a game application on the console, and others. Recently end-user applications have been run on data center-located servers. These server-run applications are delivered to the end-user device via communicative connection of the end-user device to the servers.
Examples of this type of computing include Remote Desktop, where the complete PC Operating System and the user's PC applications are run on a server and then delivered as a single application to an end-user device such as a low-end PC or thin-client computing device communicatively connected to the server.
Another example of an application run by a data-center located server is a web server running a hypertext markup language (HTML) version of the application, where the end-user device communicatively connects to the web server over a communications network via a browser to access that application.
Certain platform architectures for servers and communications systems, for example, the Hierarchical Display-Server System described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/160,122, create a system of multiple applications capable of being delivered to completely non-intelligent end-user devices (and/or other end-user devices).
It would be a significant improvement in the art and technology to provide applications run by a remote server computer for access by end-user devices, which end-user devices can be switched while maintaining continuous processing state for the running applications.